1. Field of the Invention
This invention patent relates to reel for winding strand or sheet-like materials. More particularly, this invention relates to a collapsible reel that can be broken down into smaller components for ease of shipping or to change out the drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reels are used to hold and transport cable wound products, including wire and other strand-like materials as well as film, fabric and other sheet-like materials. Current welded reels take up a lot of space during shipment, and the traverse (flange-to-flange) and drum diameter dimensions cannot be modified without destructive re-fabrication.
A reel is needed that can be broken down into smaller components (collapsed) for ease of shipping to, for example, a strand or sheet manufacturing facility. The components must be quick and easy to assemble and disassemble. Preferably the reel has a removable drum such that the traverse and drum dimensions can be modified by replacing the drum with one of different dimensions. Such a reel would prevent an owner or operator from having to purchase entire reels when only the drum needs to be changed.
The present invention is designed to address the challenges described above.